Adea vs Dot
Choose Adea over Dot when you want to hear what moved before you think to ask. Adea answers in plain words in Slack or Teams too, sets itself up without a data team, and builds the dashboards and reports your team relies on.
Free planNo cardRead-only access
“Dot already answers in Slack.”
Answering is half the job. Someone still has to think of the question. Adea checks every number each night, tells you in the morning what moved and why, and builds the reports you'd otherwise put together.
What Adea adds next to Dot.
Choose Adea when:
- 1
You want to hear what moved before you think to ask
- 2
You want it to set itself up, with no data team: Adea learns what the tables mean
- 3
You want dashboards and reports from a question, or rebuilt from a PDF or screenshot
- 4
You want every query checked by Guardian, with a log of what was asked
Adea vs Dot side by side
| Question | Dot | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Answering questions, building reports and dashboards, and watching every number of the business | Answering data questions in plain words, in chat, Slack or Teams |
| Asking a question | Ask in plain words and get the answer in seconds, with the query and its sources shown | Ask in plain words in its chat, Slack or Teams |
| Reports and dashboards | Dashboards from a question in plain words. Bring a report you already have as a PDF, screenshot or Excel file, and Adea rebuilds it from your live data. Send any of it on a schedule | Scheduled, presentation-ready reports |
| Who can build them | Anyone who can ask a question | Business users, once a data team has set it up |
| Getting started | Connect a read-only database. Adea learns what the tables mean, works out what's normal and suggests the numbers to watch, the same day | Connect your warehouse or database, and the documents that explain it |
| When a number moves | Checks every number each night against what is normal for it, tells you in the morning, and tests the likely causes | You ask, or a scheduled report shows it |
| Where answers arrive | In Adea, Slack, Teams, mail and the AI assistant you already use | In Dot, Slack and Teams |
| Personal data | Guardian checks every query before it runs and flags large pulls of personal data. On Business it can hold them until an admin says yes | Governed by the setup your data team maintains |
About Dot
An AI data analyst. You ask in plain words, and it finds the tables, writes the query and answers with a chart, in its own chat, Slack or Teams.
Written from how each tool describes itself, in October 2026. Tools change, so check theirs for today's details. Found something wrong? Write to us and we'll correct it.
Choose Dot when
- A data team wants to govern metrics and definitions in one place
- You want one assistant across many tools and documents
Use them together
Keep Dot where your team already asks. Let Adea watch every number each night and tell you what moved and why.
Adding Adea takes three steps
Nothing you have today has to change.
- 1
Connect your database, read-only
The same database you and your tools already use. Adea only reads, and refuses a user that can write.
- 2
Adea sets itself up
It learns what your tables mean, works out what's normal and suggests the numbers to watch. You check the first ones.
- 3
Keep what already works
Keep Dot for the questions your team already asks it.
Questions
What is the best alternative to Dot?
If you want the numbers watched as well as answered, Adea: it answers in plain words in Adea, Slack, Teams or mail, builds dashboards and reports, and tells you each morning what moved and why.
How is Adea different from Dot?
Both answer in plain words. Adea also sets itself up without a data team, checks every number each night, and builds dashboards and reports from a question.
Is Adea a replacement for Dot?
If you mostly want answers in Slack or Teams, Adea gives you those, plus the watching, dashboards and reports. If your data team governs metrics in Dot, keep it, and add Adea for the watching.
Can I use Adea with Dot?
Yes. Adea connects to your database, not to Dot, so Dot keeps working exactly as it does today.
Is my data safe with Adea?
Adea connects with a database user that can only read, and refuses one that can write. Guardian checks every query before it runs and flags large pulls of personal data. Everything travels over HTTPS, the passwords you give Adea are encrypted with a key that belongs to your company alone, and no other company can see your numbers.
How long does it take to set up?
A couple of minutes to connect a database. Then Adea sets itself up: it learns what your tables mean and suggests the numbers to watch, and you check the first one. You can start free, with no card.
